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Gears of War HeroClix Week - ADVANCE PREVIEW #3
COG fights on with Marcus, the Scavengineer, and the Cole Train...
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Are you ready for more Gears of War? This week Figures.com will have exclusive previews of all 10 GoW HeroClix figures, so read on!
Just in time to coincide with the release of the new video game, WizKids Games is releasing an all new set of Gears of War 3 HeroClix figures! Following on the massive success of Green Lantern and Captain America, Gears will be available exclusively in a gravity feed of 24 single blind boosters holding one of ten possible figures. These include Coalition forces Marcus Fenix, Dominic Santiago, Augustus Cole, Damon Baird, and Anya Stroud, as well as the evil Locust Horde for them to battle with the Mauler, Locust Drone, Kantus, General RAAM, and Skorge. These figures are fully compatible with the HeroClix game, so you can pit the COG or Locust against the likes of the Avengers or Justice League!
The Locust Horde may have the Kantus for support, but the Coalition of Ordered Governments has Damon Baird! This 79 point soldier brings the pain with 6 range and better than average numbers, including Attack values that start at 9, drop to 8, but bounce back up to 10s on his last two clicks. Like his allies Damon has the COG Team Ability so he can run for cover after a ranged attack (first discussed with the reveal of Dom and Anya HERE), and that goes especially well with his opening two clicks of Running Shot. He also adds one to your grenade pool and has access to the Smoke type (perfect for creating more hindering terrain). On the Defensive track he has a little bit of Toughness and then a streak of Super Senses to avoid taking damage. But where Baird really shines is in his Trait and Special Powers...
Damon’s Trait “Scavengineer” is quite a piece of work. As a free action he can attempt to swipe an adjacent unheld item; on a roll of 4-6 that object leaves the game and you get one more grenade! Not only is this a cool way to increase your grenade pool, it can also play havoc with your enemy’s positioning for Stealth or his benefit from a special object. Baird also has two Special Powers on his dial. For two clicks he starts out with “Let Me Help You Help Me,” granting a special form of Perplex that must target another character but shares its effect with Damon. As soon as that goes away he gets “You Gonna Just Lay There and Bleed All Day?” giving him the use of Support normally and as a move-and-Support combo!
Augustus Cole, better known as the “Cole Train,” is one of the most popular characters from the Gears of War franchise, so he was a shoo-in to appear in the HeroClix set. This Cole is 88 points of fighting fury with a varied dial that mixes range and close combat abilities. He too has the COG Team Ability, and he adds two to your grenade pool with the options of using the Frag and Smoke types. Cole has the slightly extended range of 7, but that can easily change with his incredible Trait; “Raven Gunner” lets you place a Special Marker 10 squares away from your starting area that gives Cole a 10 range with two targets while he’s occupying it, AND it gives him +1 damage to each target he hits with a ranged combat attack! Look for the Raven Gunner to appear on rooftops and at chokepoints near you.
Cole’s seven click dial has lots of move and attack powers with two early clicks of Running Shot and a late dial run of Charge, switching between the somewhat slower “Train” persona and his experience as a Defensive Lineman. Good Attack values (only dropping below a 9 on his last two clicks) are bolstered by the “Thrashball Star” Special Power that gives him Flurry and lets you retain a grenade when Cole uses one and hits an opposing character by rolling doubles! Defensively the Train has a click of Invulnerability then three clicks respectively of Toughness and Energy Shield/Deflection. The cherry on top is Ranged Combat Expert on Cole’s top click for even more damage potential, especially if you can combine it with Raven Gunner!
Finally we come to the main hero of the Gears of War saga, Marcus Fenix himself. He clocks in as the COG’s most valuable at 91 points, and backs that up with lots of powers. At first glance he shares some features with Cole including the standard COG Team Ability, a 7 range, +2 to the grenade pool, and access to Frag and Smoke grenade types. As we look at his dial, though, you’ll see better numbers, more powers, and of course the always-awesome Indomitable!
A Speed track of 8s and 7s sees two starting clicks of Running Shot and two final clicks of Charge, giving Marcus some move and attack ability. His “horseshoe” symmetrical Attack numbers (11-10-9-9-9-10-11) start off with the “Fast Reload” Special Power giving him a free action ranged combat with -1 damage after any successful attack that rolled doubles! That power goes away after three clicks, traded out for two of Energy Explosion and two of Blades/Claws/Fangs to make Marcus deadly to the end. Defensively the veteran soldier starts with a great 18 that steadily drops but shows successively Toughness, Energy Shield/Deflection, and Combat Reflexes. Finally, Marcus has starting Leadership to get the most out of his allies, and he picks up Exploit Weakness toward the end of his dial!
You can get all 10 members of the Gears of War 3 HeroClix set when it releases on August 17th. To see the rest of the Gears figures check out Locust Drone, Mauler, Dominic Santiago and Anya Stroud here and Kantus, Skorge, and General RAAM here.
-Scott Rubin
